The Sparts Alphabet

By Kurt Hunzeker

Teaching children their ABCs and 123s sounds easy. Most parents flip on PBS or one of the 18 Nickelodeon channels on DirecTV, stick their kids in front of the tube and tell them to have at it. My niece can even count to 20 in Spanish thanks to Dora the Explorer.

But I wanted to create something that will not only help my future kids (the good Lord willing) learn their alphabets, but will look great adorned in their sports-themed bedrooms for years to come.

So I created the ABCs of Sparts Marketing. I wish I could say that the design was an original thought, but the idea sparked when I found artist Heidi Cody’s “American Alphabet” design:

http://www.heidicody.com/images/art/alphabet/index.html

Teams frequently use the first letters in either their city’s name or nickname for their logos (be it primary, secondary, cap, whatever): A – Atlanta Braves, Alabama Crimson Tide, Colorado Avalanche, etc.

I decided to be judge, jury and executioner when I created the “Sparts Alphabet,” a new sports-only representation of Cody’s work. This poster embodies and colorfully depicts how art has not only changed but also energized the sports industry in recent years.

The goal was to incorporate as many different sports, leagues and levels into this design, to accurately portray the wide breadth of sports in the world today. In my opinion, these are the best lettered-brands in sports today, and this is certainly debatable.

I am looking forward to hanging this up in my kids’ rooms to help not only explain the ABCs to them, but to show them my life’s passion in a simple, 26-letter display.

A - California Angels (MLB), B - Cincinnati Bengals (NFL), C - Columbus Catfish (MiLB), D - Denver Broncos (NFL), E - Real Salt Lake (MLS), F - Atlanta Falcons (NFL), G - Houston Gamblers (USFL), H - University of Hawaii (NCAA), I - Indianapolis Indians (MiLB), J - West Tenn Diamond Jaxx (MiLB), K - Charlotte Knights (MiLB), L - Los Angeles Lakers (NBA), M - Colorado Mammoth (NLL), N - Quebec Nordiques (NHL), O - Las Vegas Outlaws (XFL), P - Indiana Pacers (NBA), Q - Berlin Thunder (NFLE), R - Arizona Rattlers (AFL), S - The Swing of the Quad Cities (MiLB), T - Tennessee Titans (NFL), U - University of South Florida (NCAA), V - St. Louis Vipers (RHI), W - Winnipeg Blue Bombers (CFL), X - Chicago White Sox (MLB), Y - Yuma Scorpions (GBL), Z - New Orleans Zephyrs (MiLB)